Getting Beach-Body Ready with the Victoria’s Secret Angels: Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, and More Share Their Tricks

This morning’s icy winds may have you meditating on how to ensure you never expose a centimeter of skin again, but don’t get too comfortable with the idea of hiding under winter layers. Because if we can promise you anything about next week’s first-ever Victoria’s Secret Swim Special (airing on CBS at 10:00 p.m. EST on February 26), it’s that you are going to be booking a beach vacation and reintegrating crunches into your fitness routine soon. For the shoot, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Lily Aldridge, Joan Smalls, Behati Prinsloo, and Adriana Lima took to Puerto Rico’s sandy shores to jog by the ocean, dance in the streets of Old San Juan, and explore waterfalls hidden in the El Yunque rainforest—all while wearing the company’s 2015 swimwear collection, and of course, managing to give the best beach bodies of all time a run for their money. After all, the Angels are no strangers to getting their mile-long limbs and toned abs in photo-worthy shape.

 

 To feel confident in a bathing suit at a moment’s notice, Prinsloo, Swanepoel, and Smalls believe in a year-round maintenance strategy, working out regularly so there’s never a last-minute race to get bikini ready. For Smalls, a mix of weekly cardio and core workouts do the trick. “Once I feel the burn in my abs and glutes, I [know] I am getting into shape,” she explains. With enough advance notice, Prinsloo will also make an effort to strike pasta and bread from her diet. Whether or not it makes a big visual impact, “I feel lighter and better,” she says.

Perhaps due to a certain genetic predisposition for bikinis, the Brazilians have adopted another pro tactic: An allover bronze glow. Says Ambrosio, “There’s nothing better for looking great in your swimsuit—it hides imperfections and gives your skin a gorgeous [sheen].” Both she and Lima can be found having a last-minute self-tanner session the night before a big shoot. We’ll take both techniques, thank you.